Association between adolescents’ Internet use, addiction, and their parental Internet use

Abstract Objectives Excessive Internet use (EIU) among adolescents is a national concern, however, the prevalence has been insufficiently studied, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. We aimed to explore the prevalence of EIU and Internet addiction (IA), and the association with their parental Internet use in Japan. Methods A questionnaire survey was conducted from January 2024 to February 2025 in nine junior high schools, involving 2061 students aged 13-15 years. Data included sleep hours, weekday recreational Internet use, psychological distress (frequent irritation and anxiety), Internet addiction (YDQ8), and parental Internet use. EIU was defined as spending ≥4 hours on recreational Internet use, while IA was determined by YDQ scores (≥ 5). We assessed the prevalence of sleep shortage (< 7h) psychological distress, and IA, stratified by Internet time. Then, we employed logistic regression analysis to explore potential factors that might contribute to adolescents’ EIU. Results Approximately 40% of adolescents spent ≥3 h on recreational Internet use, and 21.7% of them did ≥ 4h (classified as EIU). Moreover, adolescents who spent ≥5 h accounted for 11.5% of all. IA was identified in 15.3%. The prevalences of sleep shortage (< 7h), psychological distress, and IA, stratified by Internet time, tended to be higher as Internet time prolonged (p for trend < 0.05, in all variables). EIU was significantly associated with boys (aOR=1.57), sleep shortage (1.49 for 7-8 h and 3.24 for < 7h), no family rules (2.56), father's (1.86 for ≥ 3h), and mother's Internet use (1.80 for 2-3h and 2.46 for ≥ 3h). Conclusions EIU (≥4h) was prevalent in Japanese adolescents. Prolonged Internet user (≥4, ≥5, ≥6) were more likely to be short sleeper, psychologically ill, and IA. EIU was associated with sleep shortage, no family rule, and both parental prolonged Internet time. Having adequate sleep and reducing parental Internet time can be a preventive factor for adolescents’ EIU. Key messages • Excessive Internet use (≥4h /day) was prevalent (21.7%) in Japanese adolescents. • Excessive Internet use was significantly associated with no family rules and both parental Internet use.